Welcome Jim
What size are your palmettos,wouldn't think they could make it outdoors that far north without protection with heat source.
How long have you had them in the ground,I have some 2 yr old seedlings I was thinking about planting here.
Don

They came together in a pretty big container, I don't recall the size but it was between 10 and 20 gallons. I'd say they're around 3 feet tall. It usually doesn't get too cold in the winter here; we average highs in the 40s and lows in the 20s; old USDA map I'm borderline 6b/7a, but it rarely gets below about 5 here. I'd say that I'm in zone 7. The palms haven't seen temps lower than the mid-teens yet, however.

I'm running about the same zone as you,but have reached -1 so far,but tend to colder longer than you,seems like its been a week of not much sunshine here and temps below freezing,about how far are you away from the Atlantic ocean?

Jim

If there is green under the discoloration
it may just be from the spear temporarily
halting growth-a picture would help out a lot.

I'm about 20 miles or so west of the Chesapeake bay. From the ocean, I'd say about 80 miles if you travelled off-road directly east. The climate here is moderated by it, but not as much as it is in the counties to the east of here. A horrible week long cold snap is coming starting tomorrow. I really wish I could grow Sabal Palmetto up here, but from everything I've read, the winters are too cold. Have you been able to grow any palms with minimum protection over there?

hi, jimmiller, welcome aboard.

Zone 7...wow, what I'd give...

We need to see a pic of that brown spot, probably nothing serious...(famous last words. 😕 )

Pictures, pictures, and more pictures please!

Here's to your cold spell not lasting long. :lickice:
Barb

Jim,
welcome!
needle palm and the dwarf palmetto (Sabal minor) are great choices. I think they look good, and very tough. I am giving mine protection with deep mulch and cover as this is their first winter. We'll get down to about 7 oF Friday morning after snow tomorrow.
As Barb said, we like photos here. 😆
--Erik

Also, have you all noticed how these hardy palms will curl up their leaves in really cold weather

plant response to conserve cell moisture.

Yippee, another yucca lover too!
You'll go ga ga over some of the pics in the Yucca postings.

Barb

I took pictures on my iPhone, but I can't upload them since this thing doesn't have flash. I do have some on my computer; I'll upload them soon. It's supposed to get down to 12 degrees tomorrow night, the coldest these palms will have experienced so far. Nice to meet all of you, btw. Thinking of trying a windmill palm this spring; how does this palm compare in foliar hardiness to the needle palm and the dwarf palmetto?

Okay, I pulled some pictures of my palms off of my girlfriend's facebook. In the center of the close-up picture of the needle palm, you can see the browning that has occurred. What should I do about this? I also put in some pictures of my dwarf palmettos that are literally right next to each other (it looks like 1 plant).

nice palms Jim. My brother lives in Fairfax, VA and is growing S. minors and Needle palms. The Trachies have a harder time growing there.....he has lost a few but still has a couple survivors. Plant Big Trachies as spear pull will be less common with larger specimens. Good luck and keep us posted on your palms.

Jim, thanks for posting the pictures, good to see your stuff (and the dog! 😀 )

If those spots on the close-up were orange/necrotic, it'd be a sure sign of a nutrient deficiency.
Your original post said the spots were on the second newest spear?
From today's picture, looks like it's on the spear, and is that spear pushing now? 😯

For it to be pushing in the winter, did you fertilize late in the year (i.e. September?)

Maybe "hardyJim" will chime in here, he'll know.

I'd throw a tarp or blanket over 'em for the coming cold.

Ditto Tim's advice, with this addition: all palms do better with some protection the first winter or two until the roots are better established.

Good looking palms!
Barb

Jim,
nice dogs--and nice palms!
Barb,
any guess on which nutrient might be deficient?
--Erik

It's not those spots that I'm overly concerned about. It's more that where the frond splits to form it's palmate appearance. Here's an analogy: If the leaf were a hand, the beginning of the thumb to the knuckle is brown, from the knuckle to the tip, it's green. The brown area has caused the "thumb" to hang away from the rest of the frond. I never once fertilized any of my palms. I planted them in early June and watered them regularly. I stopped watering them in November once I mulched them to protect their roots. I didn't want to fertilize them because I read somewhere that doing so too late could make them less cold-hardy. I did originally plan on protecting these palms for the first winter, but decided to see what would happen if I just mulched them; kind of an experiment. Is there anything I need to do in the spring to ensure good health for these plants?

-Jim